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Research Report

that is close enough to the student’s current skill level Conclusion
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that the targets are achievable in the short term. It is Focusing on artistry transfers to a more expressive per-
the responsibility of the teachers to provide a balance formance which audiences enjoy and rank higher than
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of challenge and support for the students (see Figure 3). musical skill when attending a concert. Unlike rhythm,
pitch, or text, expression allows for individual interpre-
tation by the director and performer. As the director of
the choir, an important job is to interpret the music in a
High Challenge
meaningful expressive way. Even if the expression mark-
ings are not in the octavo, directors have the freedom
Development/ Anxiety/ to make artistic choices. Encouraging the students to be
engagement frustration a part of the interpretation process helps them develop
High Support Low Support into more expressive musicians.
Teaching expression first allows students to concen-
Comfort/ Boredom/ trate on learning the expressive version of a song thereby
cruising apathy
simplifying the rehearsal, and focuses students on artist-
ry. Since we began incorporating expression right from
Low Challenge the start in rehearsals, we have observed a marked differ-
ence in the expressiveness of our choirs’ performances.
Figure 3: Teaching-learning zones based on This concept spurred our series of research studies, and
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Mariani’s teaching style framework the results of these studies support this initial observa-
tion. Through multiple expressive repetitions, our stu-
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dents have gained more confidence and are able to fully
Rehearsals can be derailed if students are asked to immerse in the moment. Infusing expression throughout
perform high level skills without the necessary support the learning sequence has injected life and joy into our
for success. Just like climbing a ladder with missing rehearsals that sometimes felt like drudgery. Learning
rungs, asking students to perform expressively without only one version (an expressive one) of the song, pro-
a proper foundation can leave students feeling exposed viding more opportunities for expressive repetitions, and
and unsupported. Be intentional of the scaffolding in- focusing on expressive feedback have all contributed to
cluded in the sequence. the improvement of artistry in our ensembles.

• The performance is soon! We have to get through all the music! Rebecca L. Atkins is an associate professor of music
Introducing expression at an early stage may feel ini- education at the University of Georgia.
tially as slowing down the learning process. In rehears- rlatkins@uga.edu.
al, it is more advantageous to teach smaller portions
of a song with expression rather than larger sections Craig R. Hurley is the artistic director of the Spivey
without expression. Previously in our teaching careers, Hall Children’s Choir Program and Music Specialist at
we could cover sixteen measures of a song during a Ford Elementary School in Cobb County, Georgia.
rehearsal, but with the inclusion of expression, we may craig.hurley@cobbk12.org.
only get to eight measures. The good news is expressive
ideas often recur throughout the piece. Therefore, stu-
dents can apply the musical expression ideas learned NOTES
from the initial eight measures to the subsequent 8, and
transfers to future music, ultimately saving time in the 1 Henrique Meissner, “Theoretical Framework for Facilitat-
overall learning process. ing Young Musicians’ Learning of Expressive Perfor-
mance.” Frontiers in Psychology 11 (2021): 3721. https://

46 CHORAL JOURNAL March/April 2025 Volume 65 Number 7